Klingon Empire
Social Structure The defining aspect for the Klingon people is that of the status of their family or house, whether they be a ruling member of the Empire or a simple labourer. Klingon houses as usually made up of members of the extended family, whether they be aunts and uncles or nieces and nephews, many of whom may be warriors forming a standing army. Smaller houses or individual families may be also inducted into a larger house through marriage or oaths to further strengthen their overall position within the Empire by pooling warriors and ships. Traditionally each house must be led by a male although a female may lead in the absence of a suitable male of adult age, this may be due to deaths or discommendation, again this old tradition has softened in recent times with a number of exceptions leading many warriors to gladly following their mistresses into battle. Political Structure The modern day Empire is ruled over by the Chancellor and the twenty four members of the Klingon High Council, the leaders of the most powerful houses of the Empire, a tradition that has endured since the last Emperor ruled more than three centuries ago. Each member of the High Council also holds a political office, whether it be defence, intelligence, diplomatic relations and many more besides, thus the Chancellor can assemble loyal followers and put each of them in a power of position. In 2369 a clone of the Kahless was created by the monks of Boreth who has been installed as Emperor, however the position holds no real power and is instead a figurehead for the Klingon people used to exalt the people of the Empire in times of war. The new Kahless was initially seen as a puppet of the Chancellor although this later changed after the death of Chancellor Gowron in 2375 and he is now seen as the conscience of the people. Beliefs Like many other advanced cultures Klingons do not believe in a higher power or in any religion, instead their daily lives are governed by a system of honour, to ones self, their family and the Empire itself. In this way all Klingons are connected through a common set of beliefs first defined by Kahless centuries ago. In Klingon history however the people of Qo'nos did have deities which were slain, the exact details of which are unknown but it has been postulated that the belief system surrounding them was outdated. This may mean the Gods were not physically slain by a the people themselves but that the system of worship was destroyed effectively muting their effect on the Klingon populace, only later taking the form of physical battle. The Klingons do however believe in an afterlife, Sto'Vo'Kor, the Great Halls of the dead where those who have died an honourable death may rest for all eternity. Conversely those who die without honour however are taken to the Klingon underworld, Gre'thor, although a distinction between a dishonourable life and death is a fine line, as those who lived with honour may still be permitted access to Sto'Vo'Kor through the deeds of others. History The Time of Kahless (circa 900-950 AD) The story of the Klingon Empire starts with the formation of a unified force under the command of Kahless the Unforgettable, the greatest warrior and general the Empire has ever known. Not only did Kahless slay the tyrant Molor but he led the combined forces of the old warlords against the Fek'lhri, an ancient enemy of the Klingons who occupied many parts of Qo'noS, he was also a philosopher who regarded knowledge as an important tool in crafting the First Empire as was the code of honour. With his work done Kahless left Qo'noS and pointed to a distant star, Boreth, leaving behind not only the Sword of Kahless but a prophecy that he would one day return. The Hur'q Invasion (circa 1350 AD) During the time of the Emperor's came the Empire's darkest hour, an alien race from the distant Gamma Quadrant called the Hur'q, a name that would later come to mean "outsider" in the Klingon language, plundered the resources of Qo'noS while stealing many artefacts including the legendary Sword of Kahless and the Shroud of the Sword. The New Era (2151-2293 AD) The Empire had never been an advocate of peaceful exploration, instead it became focused on gathering resources while entering into battle against those that would stand before them. This policy had worked for centuries, and to a lesser extent is how the Empire deals with a number of smaller powers to this day, but when first contact was made in 2151 with the United Earth Starfleet vessel Enterprise, in them they encountered a species who was not afraid to stand up to the Empire much to the annoyance of their Vulcan allies who for centuries had minimal contact with the Empire. Although no formal peace was to be signed with the Federation until 2293 with the Khitomer Accords, open warfare was relatively rare, with Klingon vessels more often than not using a show of strength to force Federation forces to withdraw from an area or stop exploration by Starfleet, this tactic often met with mixed results as a number of particularly bold Starfleet Captains decided to fight although these skirmishes were often far from conclusive. During the 23rd Century two major incidents almost led to open warfare between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, the first came in 2267 during a short lived alliance with the Romulans as the combined forces of the two great powers led them to become increasing bold in the forays into Federation territory. The second incident of note was during the Genesis incident, when after a failed attempt to obtain the Genesis Device the Klingon Ambassador portrayed the entire incident as a Federation plan to wipe out the Empire however the actions of a number of Starfleet Officers proved this theory to be incorrect. While the Empire did forge a temporary alliance with the Romulan Star Empire many historians now come to think of this as a Romulan ploy to advance ship technology as evidenced by the open warfare that would break out between these two powers a mere five years after the breakdown of formal relations, the focus of which was the ever disputed region known as Klach d'kel Brakt, a series of battles which cost both sides dearly in terms of soldiers and ships. Ultimately both powers withdrew from the area which now lies within Federation territory, known simply as the Briar Patch. After the destruction of the Klingon Moon Praxis a formal ceasefire was to come into play as the Empire dedicated significant resources to preserving their home world, for many Klingons this was a time of great upheaval as enemies now became friends leading many Klingons to leave in sleeper ships or on generational ships for new parts of the galaxy. The Empire Reborn (2294-2366) After the signing of the Khitomer Accords the foremost concern of the High Council was to save Qo'noS at all costs, major reductions in the military were met with shock and disbelief whilst changes to many social policies increased the emphasis on families supporting each other allowed the necessary reductions. In the decades that followed the Romulans entered a self imposed exile, the Federation sent forth an unprecedented number of exploratory missions and many of the smaller powers squabbled amongst themselves allowing the Chancellor to slowly rebuild the strength of the Imperial Fleet. During the mid-2340's the Romulans began to test a number of their new ships and weapons in skirmishes with the Empire the most notable incident being the attack on Narendra III in 2344, an outpost with poor defences and little fleet support in the vicinity. The incident would result in the loss of a single Federation starship, the Enterprise-C the only ship to arrive in time to support the outpost, it was to be a watershed moment for a distrustful Klingon people who came to view the act as that of a friend and ally, cementing the relationship between the two powers much to the chagrin of the Romulans. The other major incident was an attack that brought the Klingons to the brink of full scale when the historic outpost of Khitomer was all but annihilated in 2346. Only the efforts of Ja'rod of the Duras family averted open conflict although it would take over two decades for the truth of the Duras' betrayal to become known. By the early 2360's the Klingon Defence Force and Starfleet began to engage in joint exercises and officer exchange programs. These activities would serve both well as a common understanding for tactics, capabilities and perhaps more interesting the social idiosyncrasies of each others culture was to be developed, this understanding was to be tested when a single Borg Cube entered Federation space late in 2366 and while the battle was lost the willingness of the Empire to support the Federation in a time of need only served to strengthen the alliance between the two powers. Civil War In 2367 Chancellor K'mpec was assassinated. Captain Jean-Luc Picard had been named his Arbiter of Succession and selected Gowron to be the next Chancellor The House of Duras and their supporters opposed this decision, and the war began. It was later revealed by the crew of the Enterprise-D that the Romulans were backing the Duras. The House of Duras lost the support of many Houses, ending the war. Gowron was then safely the undisputed Chancellor. The Return of Kahless In 2369 the Monks of Boreth, on the planet that gives them their name, created a clone of Kahless from dried blood from the ancient dagger of Molor. They planned to bring the clone to the Empire as the returned Kahless. Worf, son of Mogh uncovered the plot. Following intervention by Worf the clone of Kahless inherited the throne with the blessing of the Chancellor and High Council, taking the name Kahless II. The Emperor is little more than a figurehead and the true power remains with the High Council. Invasion of Cardassia Gowron led the Klingon Empire into a war with the Cardassian Union in 2371. This went against the Khitomer Accords and angered the Federation, Gowron simply withdrew from the Accords. 2372 saw some hostility between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets however this was revealed by Captain Benjamin Sisko to be a Dominion plot with Changelings manipulating both sides. The Dominion War The Klingon Empire allied itself with the UFP. The Romulans later joined the alliance. During the invasion of Cardassia Prime part of the Cardassian Fleet changed sides, deserting the Dominion in favour of the Klingon, UFP and Romulan Fleet. This brought a swift end to the Dominion War. Post Dominion War Due to the actions of Gowron, Worf, Son of Mogh challenged him to ritual combat. Killing Gowron Worf gained the right to rule, however he chose instead to name Martok as Chancellor. Martok brought the Klingon Empire closer to the UFP than it had ever been and the alliance appears to be holding strong. Category:Factions Category:Klingon Empire